These rules
govern the procedure in the district courts in all suits of a civil nature whether
cognizable as cases at law or in equity, with the exceptionsall civil actions and
proceedings
in district court, except as stated in Rule 81. They shallshould be
construed and
administered to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and
proceeding.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Rule 1 was amended, effective March 1, 1996; _____________.

Rule 1 is an adaptation of RuleFed.R.Civ.P. 1,
FRCivP, with changes made only to
conform to the court system of North Dakota.

Rule 1 was amended, effective March 1, 1996, to track the 1993 federal amendment.
These
rules have been made applicable by statute to probate guardianship matters [N.D.C.C. §
30.1-02-04].

Rule 1 was amended, effective _______________, in response to the December 1,
2007,
revision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule
were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology
consistent throughout the rules.

As will become readily apparent from a reading of theseThese
rules, they are the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure adapted, insofar as practicable, to state practice. These
explanatory
notes attempt to point out the deviations from the federal rules. Where there is no significant
deviation, annotations to the federal rules may be useful, as the North Dakota Supreme
Court
has said in several cases. See, for example, Unemployment Compensation
Division v.
Bjornsrud, 261 N.W.2d 396, 398 (N.D. 1977):

"* * * when we adopted the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure we did so with
knowledge
of the interpretations placed upon them by the Federal courts, and although we are not
compelled to follow these interpretations, they are highly persuasive and, in the interest of
uniform interpretation, we should be guided by them."